Chickpea Endive Boats - Cold Appetizer for Summer

These little chickpea endive boats are a perfect appetizer to serve during the hot summer months. They are light, nutritious, easy to make and best of all require no cooking. Perfect cold appetizer for summer you can make in a just a few minutes.

The chickpea smash is full of flavor. We added crisp green celery for crunch, green grapes for a hint of sweetness, Dijon mustard for some zest and nutritional yeast for a bit of nuttiness. You may also like our Curry Chickpea Salad recipe too.

Ingredients for Endive Boat Appetizer

Endives – can be found in your local grocery store. Fresh endives should be firm to the touch and the outer edges should feel crisp and vibrant in color.  

Chickpeas – for ease and no cooking use canned chickpeas. Make sure you drain and rinse thoroughly. You can buy dried chickpeas and cook them, if you prefer or if you are trying to avoid canned products.

Celery – cut into small pieces, adds a refreshing crunch to the smashed chickpea salad. 

Green grapes – cut into small pieces for a hint of sweetness. You can use red grapes or any other varietal grape if you prefer.

Mayonnaise – use your favorite brand of mayo. The appetizer can be easily made vegan, just use your preferred vegan mayo.  

Nutritional yeast – adds protein and vitamins that are naturally in nutritional yeast as well as a nutty flavor.

Scallion (green onion) – chopped into small pieces. You can substitute shallots, red onion or simple white onion.

Dijon mustard – we used course Dijon mustard for this recipe but any mustard you have on hand will work, spicy brown mustard would be our alternative choice.

Seasonings – salt, fresh ground black pepper and paprika 

Fresh dill – for garnish. This is optional and the dill adds a slight lemon herb flavor 

How to make Chickpea Endive Boats

Cut the thick core of the endive and carefully peel the leaves off the endive one layer at a time. Set aside.

Rinse chickpeas and smash them with a fork or potato masher.

Chop the celery, green grapes and scallion into small pieces, relatively the same size.

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together until well blended.

Fill the endive leaves with the chickpea salad and place on a serving platter.

What is Endive?

Endive is a leafy vegetable that is related to the chicory plant. It is white in color and has yellow to light green edges. Some varieties have beautiful deep burgundy hued edges. Endives have a crispy texture and they are mainly used in salads or raw dishes. The leaves of the endive resemble boats and make great endive boat or endive cup appetizers. There are endless options for endive boat appetizers.

Endives can also be roasted, grilled or braised and added as a side dish or mixed with other roasted vegetables.

What Is the Flavor of Endive?

Raw endives have a slight bitter sharp flavor with a crisp, crunchy texture. The flavor of cooked endives transitions into a mellow, nutty flavor with a hint of buttery sweetness.

Endive Benefits

Endives have several health benefits. The leaves are high in fiber, calcium, potassium folate, and vitamins A, C and E. They are low in sugar, sodium and fat. They contain inulin, a carbohydrate that stimulates appetite and helps digestion.